If you're considering growing some fruits or veggies in your backyard, on your patio, or even indoors now that the weather is starting to turn a little warmer (around here, anyway), now's the time to plan out what you want to grow. Our friends at Old World Garden Farms have a suggestion too: plan your garden with canning for the cold weather months in mind?that way nothing you grow will go to waste.
Think about the things you've been eating over the past few months, they suggest, and plant those types of veggies. Sure, your spring and summer gains will be delicious when they're fresh, but now's the time to think about growing things you might want to put in cans or jars and store for the fall and winter too. if you want much longer, what you plant may not have enough time to really grow before you have to harvest and can them anyway.
They also suggest growing for the freezer, and considering vegetables that keep well over the long months sealed in plastic baggies on ice, like snap peas, peppers, and onions. Then, when the winter comes, pull them out of the freezer instead of spending money at the grocery store and toss them into whatever you're making. For more suggestions on what to plant now that'll make easy canning later, hit the link below.
Growing A Garden For Canning ? How To PLAN TO CAN and Save Big! | Old World Garden Farms
'Spooky action at a distance' aboard the ISSPublic release date: 8-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Bishop michael.bishop@iop.org 01-179-301-032 Institute of Physics
Albert Einstein famously described quantum entanglement as "spooky action at distance"; however, up until now experiments that examine this peculiar aspect of physics have been limited to relatively small distances on Earth.
In a new study published today, 9 April, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, researchers have proposed using the International Space Station (ISS) to test the limits of this "spooky action" and potentially help to develop the first global quantum communication network.
Their plans include a so-called Bell experiment which tests the theoretical contradiction between the predictions of quantum mechanics and classical physics, and a quantum key distribution experiment which will use the ISS as a relay point to send a secret encryption key across much larger distances than have already been achieved using optical fibres on Earth.
Their calculations show that "major experimental goals" could already be achieved with only a few overhead passes of the ISS, with each of the experiments lasting less than 70 seconds on each pass.
"During a few months a year, the ISS passes five to six times in a row in the correct orientation for us to do our experiments. We envision setting up the experiment for a whole week and therefore having more than enough links to the ISS available," said co-author of the study Professor Rupert Ursin from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Furthermore, the only equipment needed aboard the ISS would be a photon detection module which could be sent to the ISS and attached to an already existing motorised commercial photographer's lens (Nikon 400 mm), which sits, always facing the ground, in a 70 cm window in the Cupola Module.
For the Bell experiment, a pair of entangled photons would be generated on the ground; one would be sent from the ground station to the modified camera aboard the ISS, while the other would be measured locally on the ground for later comparison.
Entangled photons have an intimate connection with each other, even when separated over large distances, which defies the laws of classical physics. A measurement on one of the entangled photons in a pair will determine the outcome of the same measurement on the second photon, no matter how far apart they are.
"According to quantum physics, entanglement is independent of distance. Our proposed Bell-type experiment will show that particles are entangled, over large distances -- around 500 km -- for the very first time in an experiment," continued Professor Ursin.
"Our experiments will also enable us to test potential effects gravity may have on quantum entanglement."
The researchers also propose a quantum key distribution experiment, where a secret cryptographic key is generated using a stream of photons and shared between two parties safe in the knowledge that if an eavesdropper intercepts it, this would be noticed.
Up until now, the furthest a secret key has been sent is just a few hundred kilometres, which would realistically enable communication between just one or two cities.
Research teams from around the world are looking to build quantum satellites that will act as a relay between the two parties, significantly increasing the distance that a secret key could be passed; however, the new research shows that this may be possible by implementing an optical uplink towards the ISS and making a very minor alteration to the camera already on-board.
###
From Tuesday 9 April, this paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/15/4/043008/article.
Notes to Editors
Contact
1. For further information, a full draft of the journal paper or to contact one of the researchers, contact IOP Press Officer, Michael Bishop:
Tel: 0117 930 1032
E-mail: Michael.Bishop@iop.org
IOP Publishing Journalist Area
2. The IOP Publishing Journalist Area (http://journalists.iop.org/journalistLogin) gives journalists access to embargoed press releases, advanced copies of papers, supplementary images and videos. In addition to this, a weekly news digest is uploaded into the Journalist Area every Friday, highlighting a selection of newsworthy papers set to be published in the following week.
Login details also give free access to IOPscience, IOP Publishing's journal platform.
To apply for a free subscription to this service, please email Michael Bishop, IOP Press Officer, michael.bishop@iop.org, with your name, organisation, address and a preferred username.
Quantum optics experiments to the International Space Station ISS: a proposal
3. The published version of the paper "Quantum optics experiments to the International Space Station ISS: a proposal" (T Scheidl et al 2013 New J. Phys. 15 043008) will be freely available online from Tuesday 9 April at http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/15/4/043008/article.
New Journal of Physics
4. New Journal of Physics publishes across the whole of physics, encompassing pure, applied, theoretical and experimental research, as well as interdisciplinary topics where physics forms the central theme. All content is permanently free to read and the journal is funded by an article publication charge.
IOP Publishing
5. IOP Publishing provides publications through which leading-edge scientific research is distributed worldwide. IOP Publishing is central to the Institute of Physics (IOP), a not-for-profit society. Any financial surplus earned by IOP Publishing goes to support science through the activities of IOP. Beyond our traditional journals programme, we make high-value scientific information easily accessible through an ever-evolving portfolio of community websites, magazines, conference proceedings and a multitude of electronic services. Focused on making the most of new technologies, we're continually improving our electronic interfaces to make it easier for researchers to find exactly what they need, when they need it, in the format that suits them best. Go to http://ioppublishing.org/
The Institute of Physics
6. The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society. We are a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 45,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. We engage with policymakers and the general public to develop awareness and understanding of the value of physics and, through IOP Publishing, we are world leaders in professional scientific communications.
The German Physical Society
7. The German Physical Society (DPG), with a tradition extending back to 1845, is the largest physical society in the world with more than 59,000 members. The DPG sees itself as the forum and mouthpiece for physics and is a non-profit organisation that does not pursue financial interests. It supports the sharing of ideas and thoughts within the scientific community, fosters physics teaching and would also like to open a window to physics for all those with a healthy curiosity.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
'Spooky action at a distance' aboard the ISSPublic release date: 8-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Bishop michael.bishop@iop.org 01-179-301-032 Institute of Physics
Albert Einstein famously described quantum entanglement as "spooky action at distance"; however, up until now experiments that examine this peculiar aspect of physics have been limited to relatively small distances on Earth.
In a new study published today, 9 April, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, researchers have proposed using the International Space Station (ISS) to test the limits of this "spooky action" and potentially help to develop the first global quantum communication network.
Their plans include a so-called Bell experiment which tests the theoretical contradiction between the predictions of quantum mechanics and classical physics, and a quantum key distribution experiment which will use the ISS as a relay point to send a secret encryption key across much larger distances than have already been achieved using optical fibres on Earth.
Their calculations show that "major experimental goals" could already be achieved with only a few overhead passes of the ISS, with each of the experiments lasting less than 70 seconds on each pass.
"During a few months a year, the ISS passes five to six times in a row in the correct orientation for us to do our experiments. We envision setting up the experiment for a whole week and therefore having more than enough links to the ISS available," said co-author of the study Professor Rupert Ursin from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Furthermore, the only equipment needed aboard the ISS would be a photon detection module which could be sent to the ISS and attached to an already existing motorised commercial photographer's lens (Nikon 400 mm), which sits, always facing the ground, in a 70 cm window in the Cupola Module.
For the Bell experiment, a pair of entangled photons would be generated on the ground; one would be sent from the ground station to the modified camera aboard the ISS, while the other would be measured locally on the ground for later comparison.
Entangled photons have an intimate connection with each other, even when separated over large distances, which defies the laws of classical physics. A measurement on one of the entangled photons in a pair will determine the outcome of the same measurement on the second photon, no matter how far apart they are.
"According to quantum physics, entanglement is independent of distance. Our proposed Bell-type experiment will show that particles are entangled, over large distances -- around 500 km -- for the very first time in an experiment," continued Professor Ursin.
"Our experiments will also enable us to test potential effects gravity may have on quantum entanglement."
The researchers also propose a quantum key distribution experiment, where a secret cryptographic key is generated using a stream of photons and shared between two parties safe in the knowledge that if an eavesdropper intercepts it, this would be noticed.
Up until now, the furthest a secret key has been sent is just a few hundred kilometres, which would realistically enable communication between just one or two cities.
Research teams from around the world are looking to build quantum satellites that will act as a relay between the two parties, significantly increasing the distance that a secret key could be passed; however, the new research shows that this may be possible by implementing an optical uplink towards the ISS and making a very minor alteration to the camera already on-board.
###
From Tuesday 9 April, this paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/15/4/043008/article.
Notes to Editors
Contact
1. For further information, a full draft of the journal paper or to contact one of the researchers, contact IOP Press Officer, Michael Bishop:
Tel: 0117 930 1032
E-mail: Michael.Bishop@iop.org
IOP Publishing Journalist Area
2. The IOP Publishing Journalist Area (http://journalists.iop.org/journalistLogin) gives journalists access to embargoed press releases, advanced copies of papers, supplementary images and videos. In addition to this, a weekly news digest is uploaded into the Journalist Area every Friday, highlighting a selection of newsworthy papers set to be published in the following week.
Login details also give free access to IOPscience, IOP Publishing's journal platform.
To apply for a free subscription to this service, please email Michael Bishop, IOP Press Officer, michael.bishop@iop.org, with your name, organisation, address and a preferred username.
Quantum optics experiments to the International Space Station ISS: a proposal
3. The published version of the paper "Quantum optics experiments to the International Space Station ISS: a proposal" (T Scheidl et al 2013 New J. Phys. 15 043008) will be freely available online from Tuesday 9 April at http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/15/4/043008/article.
New Journal of Physics
4. New Journal of Physics publishes across the whole of physics, encompassing pure, applied, theoretical and experimental research, as well as interdisciplinary topics where physics forms the central theme. All content is permanently free to read and the journal is funded by an article publication charge.
IOP Publishing
5. IOP Publishing provides publications through which leading-edge scientific research is distributed worldwide. IOP Publishing is central to the Institute of Physics (IOP), a not-for-profit society. Any financial surplus earned by IOP Publishing goes to support science through the activities of IOP. Beyond our traditional journals programme, we make high-value scientific information easily accessible through an ever-evolving portfolio of community websites, magazines, conference proceedings and a multitude of electronic services. Focused on making the most of new technologies, we're continually improving our electronic interfaces to make it easier for researchers to find exactly what they need, when they need it, in the format that suits them best. Go to http://ioppublishing.org/
The Institute of Physics
6. The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society. We are a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 45,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. We engage with policymakers and the general public to develop awareness and understanding of the value of physics and, through IOP Publishing, we are world leaders in professional scientific communications.
The German Physical Society
7. The German Physical Society (DPG), with a tradition extending back to 1845, is the largest physical society in the world with more than 59,000 members. The DPG sees itself as the forum and mouthpiece for physics and is a non-profit organisation that does not pursue financial interests. It supports the sharing of ideas and thoughts within the scientific community, fosters physics teaching and would also like to open a window to physics for all those with a healthy curiosity.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Apr. 5, 2013 ? A new study has revealed promising targets for the development of new drugs against childhood obesity. Researchers have identified four genes newly associated with childhood obesity and an increased burden of rare genetic deletions and rearrangements in severely obese children. Gaining a better basic understanding of obesity will open new doors to clinically relevant research.
Researchers have identified four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity. They also found an increased burden of rare structural variations in severely obese children.
The team found that structural variations can delete sections of DNA that help to maintain protein receptors known to be involved in the regulation of weight. These receptors are promising targets for the development of new drugs against obesity.
As one of the major health issues affecting modern societies, obesity has increasingly received public attention. Genes, behavior and environment, all contribute to the development of obesity.
Children with severe obesity are more likely to have a strong genetic contribution. This study has enhanced understanding of how both common and rare variants around specific genes and genetic regions are involved in severe childhood obesity.
?We?ve known for a long time that changes to our genes can increase our risk of obesity. For example, the gene FTO has been unequivocally associated with BMI, obesity and other obesity-related traits,? says Dr Eleanor Wheeler, first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. ?In our study of severely obese children, we found that variations in or near two of the newly associated genes seem to have a comparable or greater effect on obesity than the FTO gene: PRKCH and RMST.?
The team found that different genes can be involved in severe childhood obesity compared to obesity in adults.
Rare genetic changes in one of the newly associated genes, LEPR, are known to cause a severe form of early onset obesity. The team identified a more common variant in this gene, found in 6 per cent of the population, that can increase a person?s risk of obesity. This finding is an example of where rare and more common variations around the same gene or region can influence the risk of severe obesity.
Some of the children in this study had an increased number of structural variations of their DNA that delete G-protein coupled receptors, important receptors in the regulation of weight. These receptors are key targets for current drug development and may have potential therapeutic implications for obesity.
?Some children will be obese because they have severe mutations, but our research indicates that some may have a combination of severe mutations and milder acting variants that in combination contribute to their obesity,? says Professor Sadaf Farooqi, co-lead author from the University of Cambridge. ?As we uncover more and more variants and genetic links, we will gain a better basic understanding of obesity, which in turn will open doors to areas of clinically relevant research."
As part of the UK10K project (http://www.uk10k.org/) the team are now exploring all the genes of 1000 children with severe obesity in whom a diagnostic mutation has not been found. This work will find new severe mutations that may explain the causes of obesity in other children.
?Our study adds evidence that a range of both rare and common genetic variants are responsible for severe childhood obesity,? says Dr In?s Barroso, co-lead author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. ?This work brings us a step closer to understanding the biology underlying this severe form of childhood obesity and providing a potential diagnosis to the children and their parents.?
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Eleanor Wheeler, Ni Huang, Elena G Bochukova, Julia M Keogh, Sarah Lindsay, Sumedha Garg, Elana Henning, Hannah Blackburn, Ruth J F Loos, Nick J Wareham, Stephen O?Rahilly, Matthew E Hurles, In?s Barroso & I Sadaf Farooqi. Genome-wide SNP and CNV analysis identifies common and low-frequency variants associated with severe early-onset obesity. Nature Genetics, April 7, 2013 DOI: 10.1038/ng.2607
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
TOKYO (AP) ? It's easy to write off North Korean threats to strike the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile as bluster: it has never demonstrated the capability to deploy a missile that could reach the Pacific island of Guam let alone the mainland U.S.
But what about Japan?
Though it remains a highly unlikely scenario, Japanese officials have long feared that if North Korea ever decides to play its nuclear card it has not only the means but several potential motives for launching an attack on Tokyo or major U.S. military installations on Japan's main island. And while a conventional missile attack is far more likely, Tokyo is taking North Korea's nuclear rhetoric seriously.
On Monday, amid reports North Korea is preparing a missile launch or another nuclear test, Japanese officials said they have stepped up measures to ensure the nation's safety. Japanese media reported over the weekend that the defense minister has put destroyers with missile interception systems on alert to shoot down any missile or missile debris that appears to be headed for Japanese territory.
"We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation," said chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga, though he and defense ministry officials refused to confirm the reports about the naval alert, saying they do not want to "show their cards" to North Korea.
North Korea, meanwhile, issued a new threat against Japan.
"We once again warn Japan against blindly toeing the U.S. policy," said an editorial Monday in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of its ruling party. "It will have to pay a dear price for its imprudent behavior."
Following North Korea's third nuclear test in February, Japanese experts have increasingly voiced concerns that North Korea may already be able to hit ? or at least target ? U.S. bases and major population centers with nuclear warheads loaded onto its medium-range Rodong missiles.
"The threat level has jumped" following the nuclear test, said Narushige Michishita, a former Ministry of Defense official and director of the Security and International Studies Program at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
Unlike North Korea's still-under-construction intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, program, its arsenal of about 300 deployed Rodong missiles has been flight tested and is thought to have a range of about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).
That is good enough to reach Tokyo and key U.S. military bases ? including Yokota Air Base, which is the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Air Force; Yokosuka Naval Base, where the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and its battle group are home-based; and Misawa Air Base, a key launching point for U.S. F-16 fighters.
Michishita, in an analysis published late last year, said a Rodong missile launched from North Korea would reach Japan within five to 10 minutes and, if aimed at the center of Tokyo, would have a 50-percent probability of falling somewhere within the perimeter of Tokyo's main subway system.
He said Japan would be a particularly tempting target because it is close enough to feasibly reach with a conventionally or nuclear-armed missile, and the persistent animosity and distrust dating back to Japan's colonization of the Korean peninsula in 1910 provides an ideological motive.
Also, a threat against Japan could be used to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington. Pyongyang could, for example, fire one or more Rodong missiles toward Tokyo but have them fall short to frighten Japan's leaders into making concessions, stay out of a conflict on the peninsula or oppose moves by the U.S. forces in Japan to assist the South Koreans, lest Tokyo suffer a real attack.
"Given North Korea's past adventurism, this scenario is within the range of its rational choices," Michishita wrote.
Officials stress that simply having the ability to launch an attack does not mean it would be a success. They also say North Korea is not known to have actually deployed any nuclear-tipped missiles.
Tokyo and Washington have invested billions of dollars in what is probably the world's most sophisticated ballistic missile defense shield since North Korea sent a long-range Taepodong missile over Japan's main island in 1998. Japan now has its own land- and sea-based interceptors and began launching spy satellites after the "Taepodong shock" to keep its own tabs on military activities inside North Korea.
For the time being, most experts believe, North Korea cannot attack the United States with a nuclear warhead because it can't yet fashion one light enough to mount atop a long-range ICBM. But Japanese analysts are not alone in believing North Korea has cleared the "miniaturization" problem for its medium-range weapons.
In April 2005, Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that North Korea had the capability to arm a missile with a nuclear device. In 2011, the same intelligence agency said North Korea "may now have" plutonium-based nuclear warheads that it can deliver by ballistic missiles, aircraft or "unconventional means."
The Pentagon has since backtracked, saying it isn't clear how small a nuclear warhead the North can produce.
But David Albright, a physicist at the Institute for Science and International Security think-tank, said in an email he believes the North can arm Rodong missiles with nuclear warheads weighing as much as several hundred kilograms (pounds) and packing a yield in the low kilotons.
That is far smaller than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki but big enough to cause significant casualties in an urban area.
Japan also is a better target than traditional enemy South Korea because striking so close to home with a nuclear weapon will blanket a good part of its own population with the fallout.
Regardless of whom North Korea strikes ? with a nuclear or conventional weapon ? it can be assured of one thing: a devastating counterattack by the United States.
Apr. 7, 2013 ? A compound abundant in red meat and added as a supplement to popular energy drinks has been found to promote atherosclerosis -- or the hardening or clogging of the arteries -- according to Cleveland Clinic research published online this week in the journal Nature Medicine.
The study shows that bacteria living in the human digestive tract metabolize the compound carnitine, turning it into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite the researchers previously linked in a 2011 study to the promotion of atherosclerosis in humans. Further, the research finds that a diet high in carnitine promotes the growth of the bacteria that metabolize carnitine, compounding the problem by producing even more of the artery-clogging TMAO.
The research team was led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of Translational Research for the Lerner Research Institute and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, and Robert Koeth, a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
The study tested the carnitine and TMAO levels of omnivores, vegans and vegetarians, and examined the clinical data of 2,595 patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluations. They also examined the cardiac effects of a carnitine-enhanced diet in normal mice compared to mice with suppressed levels of gut microbes, and discovered that TMAO alters cholesterol metabolism at multiple levels, explaining how it enhances atherosclerosis.
The researchers found that increased carnitine levels in patients predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease and major cardiac events like heart attack, stroke and death, but only in subjects with concurrently high TMAO levels. Additionally, they found specific gut microbe types in subjects associated with both plasma TMAO levels and dietary patterns, and that baseline TMAO levels were significantly lower among vegans and vegetarians than omnivores. Remarkably, vegans and vegetarians, even after consuming a large amount of carnitine, did not produce significant levels of the microbe product TMAO, whereas omnivores consuming the same amount of carnitine did.
"The bacteria living in our digestive tracts are dictated by our long-term dietary patterns," Hazen said. "A diet high in carnitine actually shifts our gut microbe composition to those that like carnitine, making meat eaters even more susceptible to forming TMAO and its artery-clogging effects. Meanwhile, vegans and vegetarians have a significantly reduced capacity to synthesize TMAO from carnitine, which may explain the cardiovascular health benefits of these diets."
Prior research has shown that a diet with frequent red meat consumption is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, but that the cholesterol and saturated fat content in red meat does not appear to be enough to explain the increased cardiovascular risks. This discrepancy has been attributed to genetic differences, a high salt diet that is often associated with red meat consumption, and even possibly the cooking process, among other explanations. But Hazen says this new research suggests a new connection between red meat and cardiovascular disease.
"This process is different in everyone, depending on the gut microbe metabolism of the individual," he says. "Carnitine metabolism suggests a new way to help explain why a diet rich in red meat promotes atherosclerosis."
While carnitine is naturally occurring in red meats, including beef, venison, lamb, mutton, duck, and pork, it's also a dietary supplement available in pill form and a common ingredient in energy drinks. With this new research in mind, Hazen cautions that more research needs to be done to examine the safety of chronic carnitine supplementation.
"Carnitine is not an essential nutrient; our body naturally produces all we need," he says. "We need to examine the safety of chronically consuming carnitine supplements as we've shown that, under some conditions, it can foster the growth of bacteria that produce TMAO and potentially clog arteries."
This study is the latest in a line of research by Hazen and his colleagues exploring how gut microbes can contribute to atherosclerosis, uncovering new and unexpected pathways involved in heart disease. In a 2011 Nature study, they first discovered that people are not predisposed to cardiovascular disease solely because of their genetic make-up, but also based on how the micro-organisms in their digestive tracts metabolize lecithin, a compound with a structure similar to carnitine.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cleveland Clinic, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Robert A Koeth, Zeneng Wang, Bruce S Levison, Jennifer A Buffa, Elin Org, Brendan T Sheehy, Earl B Britt, Xiaoming Fu, Yuping Wu, Lin Li, Jonathan D Smith, Joseph A DiDonato, Jun Chen, Hongzhe Li, Gary D Wu, James D Lewis, Manya Warrier, J Mark Brown, Ronald M Krauss, W H Wilson Tang, Frederic D Bushman, Aldons J Lusis, Stanley L Hazen. Intestinal microbiota metabolism of l-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3145
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea's top military officer has put off a visit to Washington because of escalating tensions with North Korea that have also compelled more than a dozen South Korean companies to halt operations at a joint factory complex in the North, officials said Sunday.
South Korea's military is on heightened alert following North Korean threats to launch attacks on the U.S. and South Korea and produce more fuel for atomic weapons. Pyongyang is angry over ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills and U.N. sanctions issued over North Korea's latest nuclear test.
South Korea's defense minister said last week that North Korea has moved at least one missile with a "considerable range" to its east coast, and speculated that the North may be planning to test it. The missile could possibly be the Musudan missile, capable of striking American bases in Guam with its estimated range of up to 4,000 kilometers (2,490 miles).
The tensions led South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo to cancel his plan to meet with U.S. counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in Washington on April 16 for regular talks.
The allies have agreed to reschedule the meeting because Jung couldn't be away from South Korea for several days at a time when North Korea is intensifying its rhetoric, said a South Korean Joint Chiefs spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.
The U.S. Defense Department has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for next week because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis, a senior defense official told The Associated Press Saturday.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to delay the test at an Air Force base in California until sometime next month, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the test delay and requested anonymity.
Previously, the U.S. had followed provocations from North Korea with shows of force connected to the joint exercises with South Korea. It has sent nuclear capable B-2 and B-52 bombers and stealth F-22 fighters to participate in the drills.
In addition, the U.S. said last week that two of the Navy's missile-defense ships were moved closer to the Korean Peninsula, and a land-based missile-defense system is being deployed to the Pacific territory of Guam later this month. The Pentagon last month announced longer-term plans to strengthen its U.S.-based missile defenses.
Washington is taking the North Korean threats seriously, though U.S. leaders say they have seen no signs that the North is preparing for a large-scale attack.
North Korea successfully shot a satellite into space in December and conducted its third nuclear test in February. It has threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States, though many analysts, say the North hasn't achieved technology to manufacture a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S.
North Korea also raised tensions Wednesday when it barred South Koreans and supply trucks from entering the Kaesong industrial complex, where South Korean companies have employed thousands of North Korean workers for the past decade.
North Korea is not forcing South Korean managers to leave the factory complex, and nearly 520 of them remained at Kaesong on Sunday. But the entry ban at the park, the last remaining inter-Korean rapprochement project, is posing a serious challenge to many of the more than 120 South Korean firms there because they are running of raw materials and suffering lack of replacement workers.
Nine more firms, including food and textile companies, have stopped operations at Kaesong, bringing to 13 the total number of companies that have done so, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
North Korea also briefly restricted the heavily fortified border crossing at Kaesong in 2009 ? also during South Korea-U.S. drills ? but manufacturers fear the current border shutdown could last longer.
__
Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.
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